The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime
undertaking, one that can never be wholly completed.
When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other
condition of insecurity, we shall all react to this
emotion - well or badly, as the case may be. Only the
self-deceived will claim perfect freedom from fear.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 263

Fear has caused suffering when I could have had more
faith. There are times when fear suddenly tears me apart,
just when I'm experiencing feelings of joy, happiness
and a lightness of heart. Faith--and a feeling of
self-worth toward a Higher Power -helps me endure
tragedy and ecstasy. When I choose to give all of my
fears over to my Higher Power, I will be free.

***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Intelligent faith in that Power greater than ourselves can
be counted on to stabilize our emotions. It has an
incomparable capacity to help us look at life in balanced
perspective. We look up, around, and away from ourselves,
and we see that nine out of ten things that at the moment
upset us will shortly disappear. Problems solve themselves,
criticism and unkindness vanish as though they had never
been. Have I got the proper perspective toward life?

Meditation For The Day

A truly spiritual man or woman would like to have a serene
mind. The only way to keep calm in this troubled world is to
have a serene mind. The calm and sane mind sees spiritual
things as the true realities and material things as only
temporary and fleeting. That sort of mind you can never obtain
by reasoning, because your reasoning powers are limited by
space and time. That kind of a mind you can never obtain by
reading, because other minds are also limited in the same way.
You can only have that mind by an act of faith, by making the
venture of belief.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have a calm and sane mind. I pray that I may
look up, around, and away from myself.

***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It

This Matter
of Honesty, p. 172

"Only God can fully know what absolute honesty is. Therefore, each of
us has to
conceive what this great ideal may be--to the best of our ability.

"Fallible as we all are, and will be in this life, it would be
presumption to suppose that
we could ever really achieve absolute honesty. The best we can do is to
strive for a
better quality of honesty.

"Sometimes we need to place love ahead of indiscriminate 'factual
honesty.' We
cannot, under the guise of 'perfect honesty,' cruelly and unnecessarily
hurt others.
Always one must ask, 'What is the best and most loving thing I can do?'"

Letter, 1966

***********************************************************

Walk In Dry Places

Remember the Golden Key
Living in the Spirit
Whenever trouble arises, the first thing to do is to turn it over to
our Higher Power. We can take all necessary practical steps to solve a
problem, but we don't need to decide what the answer may be. Do this,
and you'll soon be out of your difficulty.
This is essentially the formula of the Gold Key as taught by Emmet Fox.
It is also the core idea os Steps three and Eleven. It is a manner of
living one's life iwht the constant knowledge that a Higher Power is
always part of it.
We should also condition ourselves to believe that our Higher Power has
been with us all along and will continue to show us the way. Nothing
depends on our being "spiritual" or "saintly" or perfect in behavior.
With all our shortcomings, we are and ever will be children of God.
My Higher Power is always with me today, supplying whatever I need for
the accomplishment of any good purpose. ***********************************************************

Keep It Simple

The future is much like the present, only longer.---Dan Quisenberry
In many way we don't know what the future holds. But in terms of
recovery, we know the future holds the Twelve steps. They will be with
us
for life.
We should never fall into the trap of thinking we "know" the
program. We'll never know all the truth and love the Steps hold for us.
"Knowing the Steps" is a project we'll never finish. As we
change , the Steps change. As the seasons come and go, the same field
or
the same tree becomes a different picture.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I pray for Your help as I work
the
Steps and continue my
recovery. Help me discover new treasures.
Action for the Day: I will ask long-time members of my program
how
they keep the program
fresh and alive.***********************************************************Each Day a New Beginning

There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are
interesting monologues, that is all. --Rebecca West
How often we want to be heard, to be truly listened to by our spouse,
our children, friends and co-workers. And we deserve to be fully
attended to. So do the other persons in our lives who come to us to be
heard. We let our minds wander in the midst of important messages. And
we may miss the very phrase that we need to hear--the answer to a
problem, perhaps. Our minds wander, randomly, looking for a place to
light, unconsciously searching for peace, the serenity promised by the
Twelve Steps.
Living fully in the present, soaking up all the responses of the life
we are immersed in for the moment, is the closest we can get to our
higher power, our God. Being there--fully--is conversation with God.
How can we know all that God intends for us to know if we don't take
advantage of God's many messages? Every moment of every day offers us
information, divine information. Each time we turn our minds away to
self-centered thoughts, we're refusing the chance to grow.
As I come together with friends and family today, I will remember to
listen for God's message. I will hear what I need to hear if I will but
listen.

Now and then a serious drinker, being dry at the moment says, “I don’t
miss it at all. Feel better. Work better. Having a better time.” As
ex-problem drinkers, we smile at such a sally. We know our friend is
like a boy whistling in the dark to keep up his spirits. He fools
himself. Inwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks
and get away with them. He will presently try the old game again, for
he isn’t happy about his sobriety. He cannot picture life without
alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol
or without it. Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be
at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end.

A.A. TAUGHT HIM TO HANDLE
SOBRIETY -
"God willing, we . . . may never again have to deal with drinking, but
we have to deal with sobriety every day."

I guess I always knew that the way to handle my drinking was to
quit. After my very first drink--a tiny glass of sherry my father
gave me to celebrate the New Year when I was thirteen--I went up to
bed, dizzy with exhilaration and excitement, and I prayed I wouldn't
drink anymore!

p. 553***********************************************************

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Two -
"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us
to sanity."

Consider next the plight of those who once had faith, but have lost it.
There will be those who have drifted into indifference, those filled
with self-sufficiency who have cut themselves off, those who have
become prejudiced against religion, and those who are downright defiant
because God has failed to fulfill their demands. Can A.A. experience
tell all these they may still find a faith that works?

p. 28***********************************************************

Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way
things turn out.
--Art Linkletter

It is in the silence of the heart that God speaks.
--Mother Teresa

"Our entire life--consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are."

--Jean Anouilh

"You are infinitely lovable, infinitely desirable, because the One who
most desires and loves you is also infinite."
--Deepak Chopra

You will find that the spiritual energy will permit you to perform tasks
far beyond your conditioned capacity in terms of time and
accomplishment.
--John-Roger

Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
--Italian Proverb

God, help me stay serene, confident, and joyful as I go through my
day.
--Melody Beattie

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LIES

"The cruelest lies are often told in
silence."
--Robert Louis Stevenson

In treatment I said that I did not "tell" many lies - and although this
was not true (hence a lie), it missed the fact that most of my lies were
"lies of silence". It was what I did not say that produced the
confusion; the pretended self-confidence that hid the pain and shame;
the half-spoken truth that harbored the disease.

Communication is the key to any spiritual relationship and a sick
silence creates the ultimate blasphemy. God created you and me to
relate. In the interchange of our ideas is the miracle born. A sick,
angry and ego-centered silence is our shouted "no" to God.

O Lord of the paradox, let me see how the lie of silence can be used to
destroy my world.

***********************************************************

"Put
on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil."
Ephesians 6:11

"For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."
I John 3:20b

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who
hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you."
Luke 6:27-28

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends."
John 15:13***********************************************************

Daily Inspiration
Set aside time for quiet because it is here that you
will come to know yourself and to know God. Lord, the distractions and
interruptions of my day are many, but for a few moments each day we
will talk.

When life seems hard and filled with troubles, look for reasons to be
thankful. Lord, Your beautiful presence is always with me.

***********************************************************

NA Just For Today

New Levels Of Honesty

"We have been experts at
self-deception and rationalization."Basic Text, p. 27

When we come to our first meeting and
hear that we must be honest, we may think, "Well now, that shouldn't be
too difficult. All I have to do is stop lying." To some of us, this
comes easily. We no longer have to lie to our employers about our
absence from work. We no longer have to lie to our families about where
we were the night before. By not using drugs anymore, we find we have
less to lie about. Some of us may have difficulty even with this kind
of honesty, but at least learning not to lie is simple - you just don't
do it, no matter what. With courage, determined practice, the support
of our fellow NA members, and the help of our Higher Power, most of us
eventually succeed at this kind of honesty.

Honesty, though, means more than just
not lying. The kind of honesty that is truly indispensable in recovery
is self-honesty, which is neither easy nor simple to achieve. In our
addiction, we created a storm of self-deception and rationalization, a
whirlwind of lies in which the small, quiet voice of self-honesty could
not be heard. To become honest with ourselves, we first must stop lying
to ourselves. In our Eleventh Step meditations, we must become quiet.
Then, in the resulting stillness, we must listen for truth. When we
become silent, self-honesty will be there for us to find.

Just for today: I will be quiet and
still, listening for the voice of truth within myself. I will honor the
truth I find.

***********************************************************

You are reading from the book Today's
Gift.To be able to invite pain to join in
my experience and not have to control my life to avoid pain is such a
freedom! --Christina BaldwinIf we really stopped to think about
it, we would be astounded to discover how much of our time is spent
trying to avoid pain. We are afraid to say what we think or tell others
our needs because we fear rejection. We are afraid to face the pain of
our own anger. We are afraid of telling others who we are. When we are
afraid of opening up to others for fear they will hurt us, we are not
free, we are prisoners of our own fears.Pain is a natural part of life, and we
are gifted with the ability to feel it. Pain teaches us, makes us work
harder sometimes, and it helps us appreciate pleasure.When we accept pain, and stop
exhausting ourselves trying to avoid it, we will be free to live life
more fully and without so much worry.How has my own fear limited my freedom?

You are reading from the book
Touchstones.In the life of the Indian there is
only one inevitable duty - the duty of prayer - the daily recognition
of the Unseen and Eternal. He sees no need for setting apart one day in
seven as a holy day, since to him all days are God's. --Ohiyesa, Santee
DakotaSome of our past troubles came from
our naive arrogance. We failed to acknowledge anything beyond
ourselves. Whatever was unseen or eternal remained invisible to us. We
were skeptical, scientific, task-oriented, self-centered, and
unreflective. It's like we had been racing down a country highway at
top speed, hardly tuned in to the rich vitality of life that surrounded
us. When we stopped the car and explored the road banks, we could
suddenly smell the grasses, hear birds singing, perhaps see a whole
community in an anthill, or watch a darting squirrel.Coming to believe in a Power greater
than ourselves is not something we create on our own. It is largely a
matter of shifting our attention, of being open to the spiritual. We
don't need to force it. We need only be willing to quiet ourselves and
notice. Ultimately, every moment is sacred.Today, may I live from moment to
moment.

You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.There is no such thing as
conversation. It is an illusion. There are interesting monologues, that
is all. --Rebecca WestHow often we want to be heard, to be
truly listened to by our spouse, our children, friends and co-workers.
And we deserve to be fully attended to. So do the other persons in our
lives who come to us to be heard. We let our minds wander in the midst
of important messages. And we may miss the very phrase that we need to
hear--the answer to a problem, perhaps. Our minds wander, randomly,
looking for a place to light, unconsciously searching for peace, the
serenity promised by the Twelve Steps.Living fully in the present, soaking
up all the responses of the life we are immersed in for the moment, is
the closest we can get to our higher power, our God. Being
there--fully--is conversation with God. How can we know all that God
intends for us to know if we don't take advantage of God's many
messages? Every moment of every day offers us information, divine
information. Each time we turn our minds away to self-centered
thoughts, we're refusing the chance to grow.As I come together with friends and
family today, I will remember to listen for God's message. I will hear
what I need to hear if I will but listen.

You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.The Good FeelingsLet yourself feel the good feelings
too.Yes, sometimes-good feelings can be as
distracting as the painful, more difficult ones. Yes, good feelings can
be anxiety producing to those of us unaccustomed to them. But go ahead
and feel the good feelings anyway.Feel and accept the joy. The love. The
warmth. The excitement. The pleasure. The satisfaction. The elation.
The tenderness. The comfort.Let yourself feel the victory, the
delight.Let yourself feel cared for.Let yourself feel respected,
important, and special.These are only feelings, but they feel
good. They are full of positive, upbeat energy - and we deserve to feel
that when it comes our way.We don't have to repress. We don't
have to talk ourselves out of feeling good--not for a moment.If we feel it, it's ours for the
moment. Own it. If it's good, enjoy it.Today, God, help me be open to the joy
and good feelings available to me.

"Faith is the thread we hang on to
when our life is falling apart" --Sharon Wegscheider-CruseSometimes faith is right there,
holding us up, keeping us light so that hard times feel manageable. And
other times we have to 'act as if' we have faith to get through the
tough times. We have to pray for faith. It feels so good to know that
no matter what is going on today, I have the faith to know that my
Higher Power is guiding and supporting me. --Ruth Fishel

**************************************************

Journey To The Heart

You’re Right Where You Need to Be

You’re right where you need to be– on
your path, guided, in just the right place for you today.

Many times on my journey I stopped
short, convinced I would never find the place I was trying to find,
only to discover that it was right in front of me all the time. I had
gone there instinctively. Gone right where I needed to go, right where
I was heading.

There is a part of us that knows where
we need to be and understands where we really want to go. There’s a
place in us that has the map, even if our eyes and conscious mind can’t
see it, can’t figure it out, or aren’t certain it’s there.

If you’re spinning in circles, feeling
lost and confused, trying to figure out where you need to be and not
all that certain where you’re going,stop. Breathe deeply. Look around.

You’re right where you need to be.
Maybe you’ve been there all along.

**************************************************

More Language Of Letting Go

Calm yourself first

Calm yourself.

Many incidents will come to pass in
our lives. Sometimes, things happen to get our attention, to point the
next lesson out, to help guide us along our path. Sometimes, things
just happen.

Our emotional responses to the world
are important. How do you feel? What do you like? What don’t you like?
Have you been denying something, something taking place before your
eyes? What we sense, what we feel, and, more important, what we know
deep inside is an important part of our spirit, our connection to the
Divine.

It’s important not to underreact. It’s
important not to overreact.

When something comes up, calm
yourself. Feel your emotions. Don’t move into denial. Feel each wave of
each feeling. Allow your thoughts to pass through you. But the key is
not to act on these emotions. Let them pass through you first.

Your power comes from being centered
and clear. That’s where your answers, insights, and lessons will come
from,too.

The first thing to do when something
happens is feel what you feel.

The second is calm yourself. From that
place of calm, you’ll be guided into your next step.

God, teach me to take guided action,
not action motivated by turbulent emotions.

**************************************************
***********

In God’s Care

It is well, when one is judging a
friend, to remember that he is judging you with the same godlike and
superior impartiality. ~~Arnold Bennett

It’s amazing how well we know our
friends and how we think they should behave. And isn’t it interesting
that what we want others to do always benefits us in some way? When we
are upset with people, it’s usually because they have failed to fulfill
an assignment we have mentally given them – or because their errors are
a little too much like our own.

We couldn’t fairly or accurately judge
people without knowing an infinite number of things about them. And we
would have to know how those things influenced their judgment. Too, we
would have to be sure that our perception was without flaw before we
could judge fairly.

God, of course, is the only competent
judge of anyone. Only God knows everyone’s past, present, and future.
Only God can be fair. What, then, are we doing in the judge’s chair?

My only judgment is that I’m not
competent to judge anyone.

**************************************************
************

Day By Day

Dealing with problems

Eventually we reach a point in
recovery where one trying incident doesn’t have to ruin the whole day.
We reach a point where we’re less sensitive or emotional. We learn to
take each day with everything in it. We learn to take each day with
humor, acceptance, and love.

This is not to say that we become
doormats; it just means we’re going to find ways to calm down and not
complicate existing problems. Just for today, let’s leave all our
trials and complications to our Higher Power.

Am I learning to be less sensitive or
emotional?

Higher Power, when I start to feel the
pressure of today’s tribulations,help me remember that you can handle
anything.

My plan for handling problems today
is…

**************************************************
**********

The Day the Sun Stands StillThe Summer Solstice by Madisyn Taylor

Summer solstice represents a time to
reflect upon the blessings we have received in seasons past and look
toward new growth.

On the longest day of the year, the
sun, which has on the days preceding seemed to rise higher and higher
into the sky, reaches its zenith and rises no more. This day, which in
the Northern Hemisphere can occur between the 20th and 23rd of June,
marks the start of summer and is known as the summer solstice. From
time immemorial, the coming of summer’s light and warmth has been a
time of gladness and celebration. In June, the snows had long since
melted, the ground had thawed, the first fruits were ripening on their
vines, and Mother Nature had once again renewed herself. Though most of
us have turned away from our agricultural heritage, the summer solstice
remains a time of new beginnings and life-enriching endings. It is the
day the sun reaches the peak of its power as well as the day that
heralds the shorter days that eventually bring with them autumn’s
chills.

For ancient peoples of the Americas
and Europe, the summer solstice was a particularly joyous day—and one
auspicious for those seeking year-long luck, fertility, abundance, and
prosperity. Men and women on two continents would gather to pay tribute
to the sun’s magnificence, to pray for a bountiful harvest, and to
bolster the sun’s energy with bonfires and fireworks. Today, the summer
solstice represents an optimal time to reflect upon the blessings we
have received in seasons past and visualize the new bounties we hope to
receive in the season just beginning to flourish. At noon, when the sun
is at its highest point, we can pay reverence to its incredible
strength and its ability to create life while also musing on the
impermanence of life as represented by the impermanence of the season.
You can reestablish your innate connection to nature on the summer
solstice by spending time outdoors; following the sun’s procession as
the day passes; burning sun oils such as orange, be! nzion, or juniper;
or decorating an altar with solar images, summer greens, or colorful
blossoms.

Just as the summer solstice is
symbolic of agricultural growth, so is it symbolic of personal growth.
It is a wonderful time to nurture your potential as you would nurture a
tiny seedling and let your creative energy express itself fully. On the
summer solstice, you may feel compelled to emulate the noontime sun and
be at one with the world around you or to let your inner brilliance
shine forth at full strength, if only for a single day. Your life, like
the seasons, follows a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and summers,
whether literal or figurative, can always be celebrated. Published with
permission from Daily OM

**************************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

“Direct” is a key word in the Ninth
Step. There are times, unfortunately, where many of us are hopeful that
indirect amends will suffice, sparing us the pain and supposed
humiliation of approaching people in person and telling them of our
wrongs. This is evasion and will never give us a true sense of breaking
with the wrong-doings of the past. It shows that we’re still trying to
defend something that isn’t worth defending, hanging on to conduct that
we ought to abandon. The usual reasons for sidestepping direct amends
are pride and fear. As I make amends to others, do I realize that the
real, lasting benefits accrue to me?

Today I Pray

May I be sure that the best reward for
coming on straight as I try to repair my damages is, after all, my own.
But may I avoid making amends purely for my own benefit — to be
forgiven, to be reinstated, to flaunt the “new me.” Ego-puffing and
people-leasing are not part of the real “new me.” God save me from
opportunism.

Today I Will Remember

No puffery or people-pleasing.

**************************************************

One More Day

One cloud is enough to eclipse all
the sun. – Thomas Fuller

Sometimes a beautiful day suddenly
falls to pieces because of a criticism from a friend or being stuck in
traffic before an important appointment. Later we may have wondered why
one small happening could overshadow other happy events.

Quite possible the answer lies within
us and our expectations. if we expect each day and all our
relationships to be without mishaps or misunderstandings, we set
ourselves up to be disappointment. If we direct our energies toward
pleasing our friends and relatives at the expense of our own needs and
values, we are placing too much responsibility in their hands. We can
have more rewarding days when our expectations are realistic. Each day
will have unexpected delays or unappreciated remarks, but they are just
a scattering of clouds in a bright, wide, wonderful sky.

I will have more realistic
expectations.

**************************************************

Food for Thought.

Discipline

If we think of discipline in terms of
punishment, we miss the more constructive meanings of the word.
Discipline is order, training, practice, study. Without it, our lives
are ineffective and full of chaos. Before we came to OA, our eating
patterns were probably chaotic. We may have been short of order in
other areas, too.

Discipline is a tool which produces
self-respect and a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. When we
discipline ourselves to eat three measured meals a day, we achieve
physical and emotional results which make our spirits sing! The
discipline of the OA program liberates us from the tyranny of self-will
and self-indulgence.

As we develop trust in our Higher
Power, we begin to see that the hardships and difficulties we face are
means to spiritual development. Through them, we acquire
self-discipline and strength. Our lives become ordered according to
God's plan.Make me willing, Lord, to accept the
discipline of an ordered life.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

A Person of Worth“It is funny about life:if you refuse to accept anything but
the very bestyou will very often get it.”W. Somerset Maugham

Upon entering recovery, I found it
ironic, even strange, that I was so very good at taking care of others
and helping them secure the help that they needed, yet often in my life
I have not done this for myself. I would grow depressed and very frozen
in anger, grief, and fear. Why wasn’t I ever able to care properly for
myself? At what point did I begin to expect the worst as my own
allotment in life?

It is possible that I dreamed of a
“rescue” or an intervention of some kind that would “save me.” It is
likely that my Higher Power knew of my tendencies for magical thinking.
He caught my attention by the introduction of someone who knew of a
program that would point me in a realistic direction. In this program,
I would be taught to take small actions -- “One day at a time” -- that
would encourage and re-build my shattered self-esteem. I now am in
possession of a wonderful program that has given me tools for recovery
and change so that I can learn to treat myself as well as I treat
others.

One day at a time...I no longer accept anything but the
best, as it will indirectly affect my recovery. This is my new mindset:
that I am a person of worth.~ January K.

*****************************************

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

In the spring of 1940, John D.
Rockefeller, Jr. gave a dinner for many of his friends to which he
invited A.A. members to tell their stories. News of this got on the
world wires; inquiries poured in again and many people went to the
bookstores to get the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous.' By March 1941 the
membership had shot up to 2,000. Then Jack Alexander wrote a feature
article in the SATURDAY EVENING POST and placed such a compelling
picture of A.A. before the general public that alcoholics in need of
help really deluged us. By the close of 1941, A.A. numbered 8,000
members. The mushrooming process was in full swing. A.A. had become a
national institution. - Pg. xviii - 4th. Edition - Foreward To Second
Edition

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

As we learn to accept our disease, our
circumstances and what we must do to recover, we come to realize that
although we may not have control over these situations, we do have
control over how we react to them. Bill W., co-founder of 12-step
programs, wrote 'We neither ran nor fought. But accept we did. And then
we were free.'

I chose to accept this wonderful
opportunity to grow spiritually and know this 'new freedom and new
happiness' of which they speak.

Personal Truth

Today, I know that no one from my past
needs to see things the way I do for me to get better and move on.
Trying to convince others of what I have learned through my own journey
can be an exercise in futility and delay my progress. First of all,
each of us has our own truth that is unique unto itself. Second of all,
each of us is at a different level of understanding and acceptance of
who and where we are in life. Each member in my family had different
experiences. That I thought we somehow matched up was an illusion. We
each experienced our childhoods in our own way and have a right to our
own perceptions. I do not have to get anyone to see it my way in order
for me to feel comfortable. My truth is my truth, theirs is theirs.

I honor my own experiences and
personal truth, as well as those of others.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

There is a difference between sharing
our experience and imposing our opinions on someone. A sure way to set
yourself up for a 'slip' is to be convinced that others will slip if
they don't listen to your opinion.

When my opinion means more to me than
my sobriety, I set myself up for a SLIP (Sobriety Loses Its Priority).

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

In AA, we surrender to win, not to
whine.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

'Faith is the thread we hang on to
when our life is falling apart' - Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse

Sometimes faith is right there,
holding us up, keeping us light so that hard times feel manageable. And
other times we have to 'act as if' we have faith to get through the
tough times. We have to pray for faith.

It feels so good to know that no
matter what is going on today, I have the faith to know that my Higher
Power is guiding and supporting me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

For an alcoholic, drinking alcohol is
like dancing with a gorilla; you're only finished dancing when the
gorilla says so. Tom W.

*****************************************

AA Thought for the Day

June 21

Why AA?Life will take on new meaning. To
watch people recover,to see them help others, to watch
loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you,to have a host of friends -- this is
an experience you must not miss.We know you will not want to miss it.- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89

Thought to Ponder . . .Every recovery, though it may go
unnoticed, improves the world in some way.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .A A = Always Alive.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Change"Let us never fear needed change.Certainly we have to discriminate
betweenchanges for worse and changes for
better.But once a need becomes clearly
apparentin an individual, in a group, or in AA
as a whole,it has long since been found outthat we cannot stand still and look
the other way.The essence of all growth is a
willingnessto change for the betterand then an unremitting willingnessto shoulder whatever responsibility
this entails."Bill W., Grapevine, July 19651967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 115

Thought to Consider . . .God used two people to create me;He used a whole Fellowship to change
me.

Steps>From "The Three Legacies of
Alcoholics Anonymous":"Though subject to considerable
variation, it all boiled down into a pretty consistent procedure which
comprised six steps. These were approximately as follows:1. "We admitted that we were licked,
that we were powerless over alcohol.2. "We made a moral inventory of our
defects or sins.3. "We confessed or shared our
shortcomings with another person in confidence.4. "We made restitution to all those
we have harmed by our drinking.5. "We tried to help other alcoholics,
with no thought of reward in money or prestige.6. We prayed to whatever God we
thought there was for power to practice these precepts."This was the substance of what, by
the fall of 1938, we were telling newcomers. Several of the Oxford
Groups other ideas and attitudes had been definitely rejected,
including any which could involve us in theological controversy." 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous
Comes of Age, pg. 160

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Many blessings have been showered
upon me during my five years and nine months of sobriety -- great
spiritual gifts, as well as the more ordinary supplies of money and
goods. These great gifts come one after the other in spite of my own
foolishness and fumbling, as I very slowly grope my way toward the
light of reason and love."Universal City, California, February
1970 "Freedom Began in Prison,"AA Grapevine

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N'
Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"Although financial recovery is on the
way for many of us, we foundwe could not place money first. For
us, material well-being alwaysfollowed spiritual progress; it never
preceded."~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
The Family Afterward, pg. 127~

"We cannot be helpful to all people,
but at least God will show ushow to take a kindly and tolerant view
of each and every one."~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
How It Works, pg. 67~

"Returning home we find a place where
we can be quiet for an hour, carefully reviewing what we have done."-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 75 (Into
Action)

"Many of us also like the experience
of an occasional retreat from the outside world where we can quiet down
for an undisturbed day or so of self-overhaul and meditation."-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
89 (Step Ten)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Only God can fully know what absolute
honesty is. Therefore, each of us has to conceive what this great ideal
may be--to the best or our ability.'Fallible as we all are, and will be
in this life, it would be presumption to suppose that we could ever
really achieve absolute honesty. The best we can do is to strive for a
better quality of honesty.'Sometimes we need to place love ahead
of indiscriminate 'factual honesty.' We cannot, under the guise of
'perfect honesty,' cruelly and unnecessarily hurt others. Always one
must ask, 'What is the best and most loving thing I can do?'

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me the willingness to
sit quietly today with my thoughts and emotions. Let me not run from
them, but acknowledge them with the help of Your love.

Ask
and you shall receive,Seek and ye shall find,Knock and it shall be opened unto you.Matthew 7:7

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